Citizen

The special issue of the journal Women's Studies Quarterly on the subject "Citizen" discusses and explores the concept citizenship. The authors of the special issues articulate a variety of perspectives on the definition of the term citizenship, from civic participation to legal protections to broader notions of cultural citizenship emphasizing the importance of belonging and recognition. Weaving articles based on research and theory with representational modes allows the special issue to look at the concept of citizenship through multiple lenses. The experiences of social protection and vulnerability, and of social inclusion and isolation, are patterned by law and politics, but they are taken in through the senses. They are understood as a part of larger life narratives. Poetry, prose, and art are interwoven with more traditional academic research and commentary. Each part contributes to a better understanding of the whole, citizenship embodied. Special aspects of the issue include an interview by Terri Gordon-Zolov with Seyla Benhabib and Judith Resnik, a guest essay by Julia Kristeva, and a Classics Revisited forum on Ruth Lister’s classic book Citizenship: Feminist Perspectives (2003).